Watch the A-10's Possible Replacements Fly From a Dirt Airstrip

The Air Force’s light attack fighter may have to operate from some pretty austere conditions.

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY ETHAN D. WAGNER

By
Kyle Mizokami

The A-10 Warthog has to fight in some dusty, dirty places, and its successor will need to do the same. The U.S. Air Force knows its partial replacement for the A-10 might someday have to operate from dirt airstrips, and so USAF just flew two of them, the A-29 Super Tucano and the AT-6 Wolverine, from a dirt air strip in New Mexico.

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The test comes in startling contrast to the stealthy, sleek image the Air Force often projects. It's also a reminder that future wars will take place in dirty places.

These landing and takeoff demonstrations were flown at Melrose Air Force Range training area, part of Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. Cannon has played host to the OA-X (observation attack) experimental aircraft trials. The OA-X program is designed to test four aircraft: the Sierra Nevada A-29, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine, Textron Scorpion, and Air Tractor AT-802U. The winning plane will replace the A-10 Warthog in wars like those against the Taliban and Islamic State where threat of enemy air defenses is low but the need for an airborne close air support plane still exists. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is expected to take on the close air support role against high-tech enemies such as Russia and China.

The Air Force can’t count on first-class airstrips in much of the world, particularly in less developed countries. A light attack plane may need to take off and land from a dirt landing strip, perhaps supported by a tent doubling as an air traffic control tower and earthen bunkers stacked with guided munitions. That might be as fancy as it gets, particularly in the opening stages of a conflict.

The OA-X competition officially ended on August 30, 2017. The Air Force will use the data collected to choose one of the four planes. The service plans to buy up to 300 OA-X aircraft.